I'd like to introduce all you cloth diapering mamas and mamas considering cloth (and the rest of you, too, because it's a good resource for many things homemade) to Harp Diapers. Harp is a shop I wish I'd known about when we first started cloth diapering, and one that I know I'll continue to stalk even once we're done with diapers. Read on to find out why! It's always a gamble when you try a new shop, especially for handmade items. After hearing some positive reviews of Harp Diapers and falling in love with the fun, geeky fabric choices, I decided to bite the bullet and order a pair of "My Little Dalek" maxaloones for Thing 2.

If you're not familiar with the concept of maxaloones, prepare to have your mind blown: they are pants made of knit fabric with adjustable leg cuffs and waistband and an extra roomy "bum circle". These features allow you to use the pants, generally speaking, from 3 months to 3 years, as well as allowing extra room for fluffy cloth bums.

The first thing I noticed when I got our initial pair of maxaloones was the attention to detail and quality. You can tell immediately that the fabric is excellent quality. In fact, I'd previously won a pair of maxaloones from another vendor, and those now sit in the back of Thing 2's pants drawer because I don't like them and don't want them wandering around in the general population giving these pants a bad name. The fabric quality is the main reason for this. Whereas the pants from Harp tend to stay put, the other pair are at half mast within 10 minutes of putting them on. Not pleasant for Thing 2 OR for Mama, who has to chase her around pulling up her britches.

Before Thing 2 even saw the pants, Thing 1 insisted on trying them on. (You can see, below, how the pants fit both the baby and the preschooler.)

That, of course, led to him wanting his very own pair. After testing the first pair for several months, I finally ordered Thing 2 a pair in the Tardis fabric he chose, and they are currently his favorite pair of pants. In fact, for the first month or so, I almost had to wash them daily...that's a good thing, right?